Purple Day

I just earned it's Purple Day!

It's for promoting awareness of epilepsy, and since I have epilepsy, I think it's a good cause. Visit the Purple Day website for more informaiton.

The Bandage is on the Other Knee

I had quite a busy day today. First off, bright and early, I had surgery on my other knee for a torn meniscus.

I might have mentioned in mid-August that I messed up my "good" knee while at band practice. Well, I was able to get in for surgery today, and it seemed to go just fine. I spent the remainder of the day crocheting more flowers from LionBrand's Amazing.

Violets

Mauna Loa

I love the Mauna Loa flowers more than I initially thought I would. That little pop of bright color every once in a while is so eye-catching! Other that that, Mom and Dad are here to help out during my convalescence, and I look forward to spending quality time with them.

Oops, I Did It Again

So, here's the story:
Wednesday, at band practice, while we were marching, I felt a weird popping sensation behind my good knee. Immediately, I couldn't put any weight on the leg, so I hobbled off of the field. The medics said that I couldn't go to the game on Thursday, and that I should get an MRI. Thursday was spent trying to get an MRI. Getting the insurance approval, and then scheduled for the actual MRI, took all day. Friday, I'd heard back from the doctor - I've torn the meniscus in this knee, too. It's weird though, I've been able to put more weight on the leg every day, and I was able to hobble around without the help of crutches today. Hopefully, I'll be feeling good enough to work tomorrow and Sunday.

Accomplishments

Being laid up from my recent surgery has been fairly relaxing. My intention with my recovery time has been to catch up on crafts, and to work on some inventory for a possible Arts and Crafts Show at the local high school in November. So far, in addition to reading a book, I finished the following projects.

I started, and finished Baby Jack's fedora (seen modeled by Pooh Bear), I completed a replacement 12x12 granny square for a swap I joined on Swap-bot, and I completed a Frilly Crochet Scarf. I feel such a sense of accomplishment!

Outpatient Surgery, Complete

I actually had a decent experience with my arthroscopic surgery.

Everything went smoothly, and I walked out of the hospital pain free. Will it last?

And the MRI Says...

It says that I have a torn medial meniscus. Luckily, the doctor that I've been seeing for this injury had a cancellation for Wednesday, so he's going to squeeze me in for outpatient surgery. I can't wait to start having my knee back to normal.

The Results Are In...

I had the follow-up on my sleep study today and the doctor said I do not have sleep apnea. Yeah! She did say there was some moderate snoring (you think?). So, doctor's advice? Loose some weight, get more sleep, and use an over-the-counter nasal decongestant. Easy, right? Maybe the nasal decongestant part...

Havre de Grace Parade 2012

The Havre de Grace parade today was the worst parade in I have ever experienced! And that’s saying a lot. It was just sooo hot. And on top of that, I didn’t have my music memorized :-( The highlights were, as usual, seeing people I know from work, and this year, I did something different. Some of my coworkers, when they heard I was going to be in the parade, asked me if I’d throw candy to them. I would remind them that I was in the band, and we don’t throw candy. So, just to see if it was possible, I found some candy at home and put it in my pocket so I could throw it at them. It worked! I only had enough candy for three throws, but it was fun.
After we finished marching, I joined Mel and the gang along the parade route to watch the rest of the parade. The funniest part of that was the guy from the National Guard who was walking down the street in his uniform, with his young son, pulling a wagon and doing some informal recruiting. The boy went to the wagon, grabbed some candy, and threw it at our group. Then he grabbed some more candy and was throwing it directly at me. By then, his dad had moved down the street a few feet. The boy went to the wagon, grabbed some more candy, and threw it in my direction. Then he grabbed some candy, walked back in front of me, and threw the candy at me again. I now have a baseball cap full of candy due to this young man :-)
After the parade, I went to Mel’s house for her annual cookout. There was a lot of good food (and a bit of alcohol). Regulars from the Tidewater, as well as coworkers who had the evening off attended the party, and it was a really nice time. In addition to the usual picnic type foods, Steve steamed a bushel of crabs and Amie steamed shrimp. It was really nice to hang out with friends outside of work. I left around 8 (before the fireworks) so that I could get to the hospital for a sleep study to test for sleep apnea.

Overall, it was a good day.

Fiesta 5K

This morning, I participated in the Fiesta 5K to benefit to Packard Center at Johns Hopkins which does ALS research.

I walked with Comrade and Rabbi from band, and enjoyed myself. Rabbi was running late, so we didn't actually start walking until about 15 minutes into the race (which by the way, was close to when the first runner was coming in), but we eventually caught up to the back of the pack, and then even passed a whole bunch of people. We ended up finishing about an hour and 4 minutes after the start of the race - not too shabby if I do say so myself. One of the highlights was seeing Torrey Smith, a wide receiver for the Ravens.

Fiesta 5K

It's official! I'm signed up to participate in the 2012 Fiesta 5K.

It's a walk/run (I think I'll participate in the walk) being held on May 5th to help raise money for ALS reasearch. OJ Brigance, a former Baltimore Raven and Baltimore Stallion (Canadian Football League) who has ALS, is the honary chair this year, and the Ravens asked the band if they'd like to participate. I decided that it'd be something fun to do. If you'd like to make a donation to ALS research, visit my page here.

The Other Ankle

Can you believe it? After getting home from the Commisary, and putting away the groceries, Mom and I sat down have some lunch. I decided I wanted some kim chee, which was in the refrigerator in the garage. On my way down the two steps into the garage, I fell and twisted the other ankle. It was the same type of pain as the ankle injury in May, just not as intense. So I spent the rest of the day with my ankle up, icing it every hour. What luck!

Last Day of Therapy

Today was my last day of physical therapy. It’s been a long road, but not as tough as I imagined it would be. My ankle still isn’t healed completely, but it’s strengthened and has the same mobility as the good ankle. As a “graduation” gift, I got a t-shirt with the physical therapist’s logo on it.

New Exercises

Today, at physical therapy, I got some new exercises to do. One of them is actually pretty uncomfortable - the Baps Board. I put my foot on a board that balances on a ball, then tap my foot forwards and backwards, then left to right, then along the edge all the way around clockwise, then the same thing, but counterclockwise. Thirty reps of each of those four things. I'm also doing a Single Leg Stance (balancing on the bad foot on a trampoline), a Boot Stretch (setting my foot on a 45 degree angle, then standing up straight to stretch), the red tubing exercises, and riding a stationary bicycle for 10 minutes. The bicycle is kind of nice, I might have to use the one at work during my lunch break!

Physical Therapy

My first day of therapy went relatively easy. I talked about the injury and where it hurts, then the PT used an ultrasound to reduce the swelling in my ankle. He then "massaged" my foot. I don't think it was actually a massage, more like feeling the muscles and tendons, but it still felt kind of good. He took some baseline measurements of how far my injured foot pointed and flexed compared to the uninjured one, gave me red tubing to take home to do some exercises with, then iced the foot while stimulating it "electronically" - the device was actually battery operated. Not too scary. Yet.

Torn Ligaments

I found out today, that the MRI showed that I tore two ligaments when I fell. The doctor is prescribing physical therapy two to three times a week for four weeks - I wish I could get my brother to do it, but the drive to Virginia would be too much.

Ankle Problems

So, yesterday while I was at work, I slipped and twisted my ankle. Luckily, it was at the end of my shift, but I went to Wal-Mart after work and walked around in relative pain for an hour and a half. When I got home, Tom looked at it and said it was all swollen, and that I'd probably done something to it. This is it today.

I went to the hospital and got an x-ray. They said there was no fracture, but now I have off from work until Thursday. What to do with my free time...